Drawing the Head and Figure [Paperback]

'Practice the "rough"! Hamm writes. Jack Hamm's book is refreshingly straightforward. There's nothing here for the "drawing on the right side of my ambition"
crowd. Hamm's freehand illustrations are absolutely PACKED into this book, from 10 to 25 illustrations generally, on each and every page with brief but concise text.

Hamm's presentation does not overwhelm the beginner because he does not use a confusing style of teaching. It's as though he took Stephen Peck's "Atlas of Anatomy for the Artist" and reduced it to its bare essential text, while at the same time, increasing the number of illustrations in the book. I'm truly amazed at how much good basic instruction Hamm has packed into only 120 pages. He is to be complimented.

$11.95 is the list price, but Amazon discounts that down to $9.56, and with the many clunky HOW-TO-DRAW books are approaching $20 and $30, this is one of the best bargains on the market.

Want to know how to draw the shoulder, the "six-pack" (abdomen), the pectorals, upper body and the neck? Hamm shows how better than 95% of the drawing books on the market today.

Hamm devotes an entire page each, to show how to draw lips, nose, eyes, etc. Likewise, there is an entire page to show closed hands, and another entire page to show the open hand. The Nose page shows 21 different styles of noses. And on page 41, Hamm shows the SIMPLIFIED FIGURETTE, with an Egg-shaped head, egg-shaped chest, egg-shaped pelvis, a couple of stick legs and arms, and illustrates its use in dynamic action poses. BRAVO!

Another feature I like about Hamm is that he has acheived clear mental focus. That is to say, when he offers a book on "drawing" there's nothing in there on Working With Color, or Painting, or Composition, or worse, attempts to burden the student by imposing metaphysical ideas. Hamm approaches the student with respect. When he titles his book "DRAWING" then drawing is exactly the subject he treats, and not other complicated and non-essential matters. By the way, Hamm does offer separate books on the subjects of:

"Still-Life Drawing and Painting" "How to Draw Animals"
"Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes" etc. all at bargain prices.

Hamm reminds me of the working draftsmen of the Rennaissance era with his uncomplicated teaching method, and he's a teacher for the working day. If I could rate it higher, I certainly would. Jack Hamm's book belongs #1 of all beginner drawing books.